Due to a system that increasingly prioritizes profit over proficiency, too many kids will never receive the crucial opportunities presented by a college education. The lopsided admissions process taking place in numerous top colleges and universities across the nation encapsulates this lack of growth and progress.

While much recent attention has focused on parents allegedly buying their children’s way into college, more damaging and widespread admissions policies deprive countless students of a quality education. The recent emphasis and advantages given to out-of-state students over in-state students speaks to the heart of educational inequity. Many schools have taken to targeting college prospects who do not live in the state where the school is located. In some schools, out-of-state students comprise nearly 50 percent of the overall student population.

While schools will claim they seek these students for the sake of a “diverse” student body, dollar signs more likely drive the focus. Out-of-state students generally pay a much higher tuition fee, two times or more the tuition rate for in-state students. Many of these colleges were built for the purpose of bettering their states and the citizens within these states. By giving an edge to out-of-state students, opportunities lessen for the young people within the state who are seeking a better future. These students may face the difficult choice of either relocating to another state themselves (thereby increasing their own college costs) or foregoing higher education altogether.

Such outcomes benefit no one and only pad the bottom lines of supposed institutions of higher learning. Sign this petition to demand one of the nation’s most unequal schools balance the scales for all students.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Dr. Schlissel,

Your institution ranks in the top five nationally for admissions of out-of-state students. You may see this statistic as a selling point. Others, however, view the practice as you selling out Michigan’s young people.

Make all the proclamations you desire about “geographical diversity.” The fact that these “geographically diverse” students pay a tuition triple that of Michigan students likely plays more than a small part in the out-of-state emphasis. This system does not diversify or enrich the college experience for students. Rather, it locks too many students out of the college experience.

Remember the “Michigan” in your title. You represent this state, and you should play a major role in shaping this state’s future. Do not deprive Michigan’s kids of their future for a few extra dollars.